Opinions on Sony KP-T4375 43" RPTV? (1 Viewer)

[Marc Carra]

Hey everyone,
I currently own a new Toshiba 40H80 which I use for DVDs and HDTV, and have a Sony 36XBR400 for satellite viewing, and some videogames. I've decided to sell the 36XBR400 and get an analog based set, for sat viewing. I can no longer tolerate the digital artifacts produced on line doubled sets while viewing DSS programming. So anyway, I'm looking at the Sony 43". I've read the reviews over at audioreview , but frankly I put more value into the opinions of Home Theater Forum members. So fire away!
Marc.

 

[Frederick]

I've had this TV for almost a year now, and I'm generally pleased with it. BUT ... it's not perfect. There's a problem with what's called a "grey smear", or "lens flare", or something like that. The best I can describe it is during a dark scene (we're talking pitch black here), in a dark room, if there's some type of light source, like a flashlight or a torch in a cave or something, there seems to be a greyish "halo" surrounding the source. At first I didn't notice it, but now I can spot it whenever it happens. It doesn't bother me. I think it's because of the material that's inside of the tv. Maybe it's really reflective. Whatever the case, it doesn't stop me from enjoying the set. Most of my viewing is cable, and it looks great. DVD's look fantastic. Everyone that comes over can't believe that it's a projection set. The picture really does looks like a large tube. Sony's coming out with a 40" tube, but I don't think it's going to be cheap. Also, you may want to check out Toshiba's 43". I believe Mits. has a 45" that you can check out. I like my set, and I'd recommend it to anyone, AFTER I tell them about the halo. It's hard to see it in a store because they usually have the tv's set to blaze to battle with the lights and the other sets on display. Let me know if you need more help ...
Freddy
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" ... Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much ..."

 

[Hal Olson]

Marc,
I have had this set for almost a year and am extremely happy with the picture. One of the main reasons I bought this was the great picture with less than perfect sources. (VHS & DSS)
I looked at a lot of sets and always came back to the Sony because of the great picture on DSS. Picture quality on DVD is fantastic, as mentioned, people can't belive it's a projection set.
It took me quite a while to notice the smear/halo problem, but it does not happen that often, and I don't find it objectionable. I think all the other great picture performance out-ways this.
Hal

 

[Brian Harnish]

Marc -- how much are you selling the 36XBR400 for?
- Brian

 

[Marc Carra]

Brian,
I've already found a buyer for the XBR400 locally. I couldn't even imagine the logistics involed in shipping a 250lb set from Ontario,Canada to California. Thanks for the offer, though.
Frederick and Hal,
Thanks for all the input. I went ahead and got the set last night. I took the floor model from a small dealer in my town. It had only been there for 2 months (verified this by the manufacture date on the back). I just hope they didn't run it in "vivid" mode all that time! I'm very impressed so far. It is quite a bit better than the XBR400 when it comes to satellite viewing. And the extra 7" ain't too bad either. I'm sitting about 8 feet away and scan lines aren't visible. I even hooked up my Playsation 2 and games look great, but I'm a little nervous about using this particular set for gaming. I found contrast and brightness at 50% looked best, but moved contrast down towards 35% with the lights off. Geometrey is perfect (better than the XBR400), and I did a full service level convergence which sharpened up the corners quite a bit.
Since I use my Toshiba 40H80 widescreen for all my DVD viewing, I hadn't planned on using this set for DVD's, but was curious as to what kind of image I could get. I brought my Panasonic RP91 from the theater room, and set it up on the Sony set. Wow! It was hard to believe I was looking at an analog based set. The depth of the image , on this set, is incredible. I'll probably do all of my 4x3 DVD viewing on the Sony 43" and use the Toshiba widescreen soley for widescreen DVDs and HDTV.
Now for the (slight) problems. The set has a red push, as did the XBR400. I could not find a service mode setting to fix this. On the XBR, it was AXIS, but this setting on the 43T75 doesn't seem to affect the red push. Any thoughts?
Another thing I noticed was a bluish cast at the very lower end of the grey scale. This can probably be rectified with a greyscale ISF, but I'm not too worried about that for now. If I can tone down the red push, I'll be a happy camper!
Marc.

 

[Frederick]

Marc,
I noticed a slight red push on mine as well. I pulled out the Avia disk and did some on-the-fly calibrations about a month after I had it, but I'm thinking about having someone do it professionally. I haven't even touched the service menu. I watch mine in Movie mode for the most part. I set up one of the personal settings when I used the Avia disk, and the movie mode was pretty close. I just tweaked it and use it for my primary viewing. STAY AWAY FROM VIVID MODE!!! My eyes watered when I saw that mode! Also, I haven't played with the color temp. settings. I set it for NTSC standard, but it still seems a tad warm. Maybe that's what giving it the red push ...
I have my PS2, Dreamcast and Nintendo 64 hooked up to this set, and before I had the PS2, I had a PS1. No worries there. Nothing like playing a game on a projection screen! I wouldn't try a 48 hr. marathon of a game that's paused, though .
Freddy
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" ... Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much ..."